MUSTACHE TWINS IN CAMP
Matt Carpenter and Trent Grisham worked out together in Texas over the winter. When he signed with the Padres in December, Carpenter predicted a big season for Grisham.
Whether Grisham gets back to being the hitter he was his first three seasons in the major leagues following last year’s .184 batting average and .284 on-base percentage remains to be seen. But on glorious display Sunday was something else Carpenter helped reintroduce to Grisham.
A robust mustache. “He gave me a little inspiration,” Grisham said. “But I used to do it when I was coming up. When I was like 18, 19, 20, I’d come into camp with one.”
Get a look while you can. “Mama don’t like it all that much,” Grisham said. “So we (he and the mustache) might have to part ways. I’ll fight as long as I can.”
Carpenter, who for most of his career sported a full beard, shaved all but his mustache last season to comply with the Yankees’ facial hair policy.
“It worked well last year,” said Carpenter, who hit .305 with a 1.138 OPS in 154 plate appearances with the Yankees. “We’re going to ride that and see how it plays out.”
The arrival of Carpenter and Grisham a day ahead of
the required reporting date meant every Padres player on the 40-man roster expected to be in camp has reported. (Starting pitcher Yu Darvish is in Japan preparing for the WBC.)
The Padres’ first fullsquad workout is Tuesday. Their first exhibition game is Friday against the Mariners at Peoria Stadium.
Martinez replaces Kershaw
Nick Martinez is back on the United States roster for
the upcoming World Baseball Classic, MLB announced Sunday. He replaces Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who reportedly was unable to secure the necessary insurance due to past injuries.
Martinez, who won a silver medal pitching for the U.S. in the last Olympics, withdrew from the WBC last month.
“That was really tough, really tough,” he said recently. “It was eating me up.
It still does a little bit. You know, you don’t get called on to represent your country very often.”
Martinez, who is moving from a hybrid relief role to the starting rotation, citing concerns it might affect his preparation for the season. It is not known when Martinez will join the U.S. team and whether he will be with the team the entire tournament.
Darvish and relievers Nabil Crismatt (Colombia) and Luis Garcia (Dominican
Republic) are competing in the tournament, which runs March 8 to 21. Infielders Xander Bogaerts (Netherlands), Ha-Seong Kim (South Korea) and Manny Machado (Dominican Republic), outfielder Juan Soto (Dominican Republic) and designated hitter Nelson Cruz (Dominican Republic) are also competing.
Ha-Seong who?
Byung-hyun Kim. Hyunsoo Kim. Kwang-hyun Kim. Sun-woo Kim.
As one of 26 major leaguers to hail from South Korea, Ha-Seong Kim knows all about his country’s baseball history. As he prepared for his third season in San Diego, he decided on a change to the back of his jersey from his last name to “H.S. Kim” to further differentiate himself from the other Kims who’ve played in the majors.
“There’s been a lot of Koreans in the big leagues with the last name Kim and also there’s a lot of last names of Kim in Korea,” Kim said through interpreter Leo Bae. “It wasn’t a big deal, but I kind of wanted fans to remember me as Ha-Seong Kim. I thought to have my initials on my back so people start recognizing me as HaSeong Kim instead of just Kim.”
For what it’s worth, including coaches, Ha-Seong is one of nine Kims on Korea’s World Baseball Classic roster.